Latest KFF Health News Stories
AP Examines Low-Cost Lobbying Effort For Birthing Centers
A lobbyist for birthing centers lacks a big expense account and high-paying clients, but has still managed to secure federal funds for her cause.
California’s Failed Health Reform Attempts Offer Useful Lessons
California’s failed attempt at remaking the state’s health care system provides useful lessons for participants in the current health reform debate.
Today’s Opinions And Editorials
Kaiser Health News presents a selection of Tuesday’s opinions and editorials from around America.
Employers Provide Health Coverage For Most Americans
Kaiser Health News/NPR report on employer based health insurance by examining the experience of Dave Koenig, 49, who receives private insurance through his job.
Medical Students Increasingly Spurning Primary Care
Medical students are choosing not to go into primary care because of low pay.
State Republican Officials Attack Health Reform Bill
Republican state officials are escalating their opposition to elements of the proposed health care overhaul.
Medicare Commission Proposal And MedPAC Data Shape Reform
A proposal for a Medicare Commission passes through the Senate Finance markup while MedPAC data change Medicare spending.
Democrats Look To Medicare To Help Finance Reform
President Barack Obama and the Democrats want to pay for much of their plan to cover the uninsured by cutting hundreds of billions from the Medicare budget over the next 10 years, the Associated Press reports.
Illinois Nursing Homes Mix Seniors And Mentally Ill Patients, Some Criminals
Some Illinois nursing homes create dangerous and unsafe environments by mixing seniors and younger mentally ill residents, the Chicago Tribune reports.
Promised E-Health Improvements Also Come With Shortcomings, Risks
Efforts to achieve greater efficiency and higher quality in health care through new health information technologies are not without new risks and shortcomings.
First Edition: September 29, 2009
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Kaiser Family Foundation Poll Says Reform Support Growing Again
The Kaiser Family Foundation has found in a new poll that more Americans now than in August believe the country’s health care system needs to be reformed.
Baucus Target Of Ad Favoring A Public Option
Senate Finance Committee Chair Max Baucus,D-Mont., will face an ad in support of the public insurance option.
Sen. Lincoln, Who Once Won Election On Support for Health Care Reform, Feeling Political Pressures
One Arkansas senator who ran her campaigns on reforming the health system is in danger of letting it end her career.
G20 Addresses Food Aid, Advocates React To Commitments
The G20 said the World Bank trust fund for agricultural investment in poor countries that they called for on Friday “should be designed so that money will be disbursed quickly and countries can decide for themselves where they want it spent,” Reuters reports.
Ban, Clinton Call For Increased Food Security Efforts
At a meeting on Saturday of “leaders, ministers, experts and non-governmental organizations from nearly 100 countries,” U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called for greater urgency in the fight against hunger, Agence France-Presse reports.
Underinsured Struggle To Keep Up With Bills; Uninsured Seek Clinic Care Or Play The Odds
The uninsured – some by choice – are seeking care at federally funded clinics in greater-than-ever numbers while the underinsured continue their struggle to keep up with piling medical bills.
